Pardons don't cover impeachment.

[cactuswatcher]

The house will most likely impeach Trump again next week. Could the Senate try him after he's out of office? There are differing opinions.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/can-trump-be-tried-senate-impeachment-charges-even-after-he-n1253544

I believe, most likely he can be tried for the following reason: Even though he would be beyond making any governmental decisions, he would still gain all the benefits of having been President, including a healthy pension and a life-time of secret service protection. As far as I know a conviction and following judgement could result in him being barred from ever holding Federal office again and possibly strip him of his "retirement perks." Stripping him of secret service protection sounds cruel, but if he's anywhere near as rich as he claims he could pay for his own protection.

Comments

[shadowkat]

There's a few other things to consider..

1. Not one but three states are building criminal cases against him.

New York is first in line and may have precedence with an criminal law suit for income tax fraud, evasion and bank fraud. And they do have a case. Which is why he didn't concede and tried desperately to stay in power.

Georgia has a case against him for tampering with an election and bribery.

Virginia is building a case for domestic terrorism at the State Level, or threatened to.
And District of Columbia is doing the same.

2. Department of Justice can file a case against him for treason, inciting a riot, domestic terrorism, and inciting a group of follower for the unlawful seizure of a house of government, also planning a coup, and sedition. And it doesn't have a clock or time line. I can file that case at any time. Nor does it require Congressional approval, or Executive approval to do so.

3. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI can file cases against him, arrest him and his family, interrogate them, and file charges under the Patriot Act, and he is not protected once he leaves the Presidency.

His best recourse is to resign and hope Pence pardons him. Pence doesn't want to. No one wants to. I think that's probably what they are discussing behind closed doors at the moment - is which method is the best way to cancel him and his associates out permanently.

Oh, meanwhile? Twitter is removing his, and his associates accounts permanently. Google and Apple are removing Parler and Gabe from their apps.

It's like watching it all fail in slow motion on social media.

[cactuswatcher]

I suspect Trump is such a monomaniac he will hang on and try to pardon himself. I'd say that wouldn't be valid, but then I'm not on the Supreme Court.

You can bet if he gets a pardon, one way or the other, he'll fight in court as long as he can, saying his pardon covers state charges, which everyone knows it wouldn't. After all, he moved his residence to Florida so he can try to fight extradition.

[shadowkat]

A couple of things? A pardon doesn't protect from a State crime. Moving to Florida doesn't protect him from New York. Florida isn't a foreign country, it's a State, it can't prevent that. Nor can it stop Georgia, it's next door neighbor from extraditing him.

In the United States, the pardon power for offenses against the United States is granted to the President of the United States under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution which states that the President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment". The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this language to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, remissions of fines and forfeitures, respites, and amnesties.[42]

The pardon power of the President applies only to convictions under federal law.[43] Additionally, the power extends to military court-martial cases as well as convictions in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.[43]

Almost all pardon petitions are addressed to the President, who grants or denies the request. In some cases, the President will, of his own accord, issue a pardon.[44] Typically, applications for pardons are referred for review and non-binding recommendation by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, an official of the United States Department of Justice.[45]

He can't be pardoned from Impeachment, and he can't be pardoned from State Crimes. And only the President has the power.